Harness
After the initial attacks on earth, Skitters began to abduct children and place what humans refer to as a 'harness' to each of their backs. Appearing biomechanical in nature, the harness bonds to the child's spinal cord, from which point they can be controlled by Skitters, and possibly Slenders as well. It appears that this control is connected to the aliens' radio-wave based communication. According to Harris's theory, when the mechanism's needles penetrate the child's spine "they soften and grow roots to become part of the host's nervous system". The device releases a form of opiate, unfamiliar to humans, which may play some part in ensuring submission to the aliens' orders. It appears highly addictive, as when removed from a child they go in to shock, and die from apparent withdrawl. Another element of Harris's theory is that having the child on an IV drip with a man-made opiate allows for removal of the harness, though the process is still not entirely without risk. The removal of Rick's harness proved this theory true, and subsequently he was weened off of the drugs and survived the procedure. This allows the process to be carried out on other children, including Tom Mason's son Ben. When attached to a child, skitters are able to communicate and control the subject, manipulating them at will. It is unclear whether ability this relates to the harness, the opiate it releases, abilities of either the Skitters or Slenders, or some combination of these elements. What is clear though is that this connection remains even once the harness is removed, although with limited effectiveness. This was shown at the end of Prisoner of War when the newly captured Skitter and Rick awoke at the same time. Throughout the rest of the season, Ben and Rick, who wore their harnesses longer than the other children, continued to show signs of being affected. The effects of wearing a harness are minor at first; in addition to loss of will, harnessed children have apparently improved health and vitality, as Rick was cured of his cystic fibrosis, and Ben was shown to be capable of doing 102 pushups, or jump-roping continously for over three hours. Ben also indicates that while harnessed, time is experienced differently to how humans normally perceive it, and that there's a feeling "like someone's thinking with you." In What Hides Beneath, Anne and Lourdes disect the Skitter prisoner, which had been killed a few episodes prior. They discover what appears to be a harness fused to the Skitter's spinal cord, which may explain their method of communication and ability to control harnessed children. The same episode was the first to introduce the Slenders, and indicated that they controlled the Skitters in a way similar to how Skitters controlled harnessed children. In addition, it is suggested that the harness actually turns its host in to a Skitter, suggesting the Skitters were mutated from either humans, or another species that may have been previously conquered by the Slenders in the same way they are attempted to with earth. The first season finale, Eight Hours seems to confirm much of this through discussion between Tom Mason and Megan Philips. Here, it is confirmed that the harness in fact does turn its host in to a Skitter, and that the process is not stopped, nor the connection between harnessed child and alien severed fully, when the harness is removed. It is possible that removing the harness slows the process, as both Rick and Ben were far less developed in their transformation than Megan, despite indication they were harnessed far sooner than her. Of interest is that despite the continuous affect of the harness on its host, and the feeling of shared thoughts, the connection between Skitter and child is only activated when a direct command is to be issued. This allowed Hal Mason to infiltrate a Skitter base and rescue Ben in Silent Kill. Category:Technology